Up to 350 job loses at North Yorkshire Police.

North Yorkshire Police Authority (NYPA) set its annual budget, inclusive of £8.9m of savings due to Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government policing cuts of over 11%.

The saving is made up of cuts of between 300 and 350 staff posts, with only 49 staff having already volunteered for redundancy. The Force and NYPA are currently engaged in a 90 day formal consultation process.

York's Labour representative on NYPA, Coun. Ruth Potter, said:

"This is a massive cut to staffing and one that will impact on the Police's service to the public. £7m has been cut from staffing alone and my concern is that once these staff have gone, Police officers will have to carry out office work instead of being out on the beat. The impact on morale is also great, with people unable to concentrate properly on their jobs and I worry that crime could rise as a result".

Police officer reductions are also on the cards through the A19 Regulations, which can require officers with 30 years service to retire. No vacancies are being filled and overtime is extremely restricted.

Other savings amounting to £1.9m have been made in cuts to supplies and services, premises and transport costs.

Coun. Potter said:

"NYPA agreed to take the Coalition's bribe not to raise Council tax this year but this means a rise of 3.14% for the next 4 years will be needed, in order to bring the base budget back to pre 2011/12 levels. So expect higher Police precept levels in future as part of your council tax",

"This is only the first year of cuts. The medium term financial plan identifies a budget gap in 2012/13 of over £2m, in 2013/14 of over £9m and in 2014/15 of over £13m. This is an appalling state of affairs that threatens the county's position as one of the safest police authority areas in the country".